Sex Education in America

Only 13 out of the 50 states in America require sex education in schools to be medically accurate. The majority of schools in America are told to teach about STDs and abstinence, but not about contraceptives. Students are forced to learn and teach themselves about sex education topics through often unreliable sources rather than being taught right in schools. Did this surprise you or even disturb you? It should as these are all accurate statements about the sex education curriculum in our own school and the schools in America. 

Do you remember taking the course "human growth and development" in middle school? Do you remember learning about sex, contraceptives, or pregnancy? No? Well that's because our school never covered those topics in our supposed "sex ed" class. The lack of sex education in not only our school, but the thousands of other schools in America is terrifying to think about for the sole reason that it can lead to unplanned teen pregnancies, STDs, and ignorance. We need better sex ed in America so that future generations and even the young kids in elementary schools right now will understand and be informed about sex and sex related topics. 

Studies have shown that more teen pregnancies occur in schools that teach "abstinence only" sex ed which is also what our school preaches. Students feel more informed, make safer decisions, and therefore have better and healthier outcomes when their sex education is understandable and comprehensive. With an actual sex education program in schools, there would be more prevention of teen pregnancies and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and infections. We deserve to be taught sooner rather than later about the changes in our bodies and about sex in general. It's such an avoided topic to the point that people become ignorant about it and don't care about the consequences of their actions since they have never been taught that sex leads to pregnancy without the proper protection being used. There also needs to be guidelines and an accurate curriculum for teachers to follow and teach off of so they aren't left to interpret the vague and unclear "rules" given out by state legislative.

Sex education is supposed to be medically accurate and taught properly. Instead, students just like you and I are left to our own devices to figure out how everything works and what sex even is. First of all, it's most certainly not fair and second of all, it should be unconstitutional to teach inaccurate sex education because that leads to unplanned teen pregnancy and STDs. 

 

Do you think sex education should be taught better in America?

Do you agree with abstinence only sex ed?

At what age and grade do you feel sex ed should be taught?

 

 

https://nursing.usc.edu/blog/americas-sex-education/

 

STDs reported by teens in the United States, by state. Teen birth rates in the United States

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  • I think basic sex ed should be taught in schools as the way i found out about things sexually were much more explicit than if they were to be taught and some kids really just have no idea and cant even take care of themselves properly because of this

  • I think a good basic sex ed class would be a good idea for 7th and 8th graders because that is around the time most kids go through puberty.  I think the class needs to be taken seriously and needs to tech them information they really need to know.  

  • I think that there should be basic sex ed taught in schools. This class should be taught around 7th or 8th grade since that is the time that a lot of kids are going through puberty but it's also before they start having sex. I do not think that abstinence-only sex ed should be taught. Telling kids not to do something makes them want to do it more.

    • I totally agree with you I think that these kids need a sex ed class around 7th and 8th grade and it needs to tech them the basic things they should know.  I also agree that abstinence only sex shouldn't be taught because like you said telling these teens not to do something makes them want to do it even more.

  • I think that sex education should be taught anywhere and everywhere in america. Teenagers are going to be teenagers and do stupid things. Not being toght is going to ruien their lives if they make one wrong move. This is a major problem and we are bleesed in Iowa to be taught this. 

    • Yes for sure! Sex education should be taught for many reasons because even if the teenager chooses abstinence until marriage there is a chance that they won't know anything. It is a very important concept to teach because a lot of STD's are irreversible and can be life threatening

  • Sex education in America should for sure be taught better in public schools and even private. I personally don't believe that we should circulate around the idea of abstinence. I think that that comes from a religious belief therefore shouldn't be taught in school just for the separation of church and state and the different beliefs that everyone has. This is a topic that should be taught by parents, but sometimes parents neglect to so. Research has shown that the majority of teenagers will do it either way, so if we center more how to be safe we could potentially have lower pregnancy rates and spreading of STD's Personally I feel like it should be taught in somewhere in the middle of middle school, but not very in depth because we'll they are middle schoolers and they tend to be immature about such topics, but we should do it just to introduce them to it, and then we should do it again in freshman year because that is usually when teenagers become sexually active, but in thid case we should go in depth and cover everything needed.

  • I also believe that it shouldbe taught better in schools because all of the stuff that goes on in todays world and I also think that if they don't more of this stuff will happen. I think that if people are taught to do something they are more likely to not do it.

  • It should be taught at 7th grade or around the age of 12 and 13 because they are just starting to get hormones that make them horny enough to consider doing certain things. I think that they should have different teachers for both genders showcasing what female and male parts do and what happens if you make a bad decision 

  • I think that most teens wouldnt listen if you told them to not have sex because its a new thing and when you offer new things to people they are going to want to take advantage of that. So therfore i believe that you should teach teens to be safe during sex instead of telling them not to have it.

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